sábado, 10 de marzo de 2012

How do we learn language?


This is a question that many persons have thought through the history of mankind. How do we learn to talk? That's why Dr Deb Roy made an experiment in his own house, recording 24 hours every day of the week. Next, you can read the following questions and their respective answers, to understand better the video.

1. Which is the 'trick' (process) that enables us to communicate something to others?
The trick is to push air through your mouth. This process takes a thought from your head and delivers it to the receiver's head. 
2. Do animals talk? If not, What do they do to communicate?
Animals do not talk. To communicate they use sounds, but not as the complex language humans have.
3. What do we express when we talk?
When we talk, we are
 expressing our thought processes that are unique to ourselves. This may be sadness, happiness, or any other feeling you may have.
4. What did Dr Deb Roy try to achieve in his house?
He transformed his house into a language laboratory, which focused in the process of learning to talk of his child.
5. Which are the earliest stages in language for a child?
First, the child starts babbling sounds. As he grows up, he starts uttering single words, usually descriptive words. Then, he puts two words together, like "more milk", and finally, he communicates with more complex gramatical structures.
6. What external and internal factors made the data recollected in the experiment into something they could use?
The recording itself was only the raw material, so they needed to analyze it. This included things as: who said what, how do they move or where those people where.
7. How did the parents' speech change from their son's first word until he could utter more complex structures?
The parents' speech got simplified from the very first word their son gave. When the son's language started developing, they began to use longer sentences again.
8. What does Dr Deb Roy compare the "blossoming" of a speech form?
The example of the blossoming of the speech form of the child was how did he learn how to say "water". First, he just said "ga ga ga", but in the next few months he started uttering more similar sounds, like "wa da" or "wa der", until he finally could say "water".

As usual, any comment or question you may have, don't doubt to do it in this blog.

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